The Boston Tea Party occurred when a group organized by Samuel Adams boarded tea ships in Boston harbor and threw overboard 342 tea chests valued at $90,000. This action led to the British Coercive Acts of 1774, termed by Americans the Intolerable Acts.

March 1774

3/28 [London]

His Majesty was pleased to appoint Vice-Admiral of the Blue Samuel Graves, to the command of his ships employed or to be employed in North America.

3/31 [London]

Parliament passed the Boston Port Bill, the first of the Coercive Acts, which ordered the closing of the port of Boston on 1 June 1774 until tea destroyed in the “Tea Party” was paid for. Under the terms of the act Boston harbor was closed to all shipping except for coasters carrying necessary fuel and supplies, until (1) the East India Company had been compensated for its losses; (2) the injured customs officers had been compensated for their injuries; (3) George III deemed that peace was sufficiently restored that trade could be resumed. All coastal shipping had to call at Marblehead and Salem first, where the customs office was moved.

April 1774

4/2 [London]

George III appoints the Honourable Thomas Gage, Lieutenant-General of his forces, to be Governor and Vice-Admiral of the province of Massachusetts Bay, replacing Thomas Hutchison, who had "retired."

General Thomas Gage landed in Boston to assume his duties as Governor of Massachusetts in addition to those of Commander-in-Chief of the British military forces in North America.

5/20 [London]

Parliament passes the Massachusetts Government Act, which annuls the colonial charter and puts control of town meetings in the Governor’s hands. This was regarded as the second of the Coercive Acts. The official title was the Massachusetts Bay Regulating Act. It provided for (1) the replacement of the elected Assembly by a mandamus council, nominated by the Governor (General Gage), to sit at Marblehead; (2) the Governor was given the power to appoint/dismiss all law officers; (3) there were to be no Town Meetings without royal assent; (4) there was to be no election of juries by the freeholders.

5/20 [London]

On the same day Parliament passed the Administration of Justice Act. This empowered the Governor of Massachusetts to remove trials to another colony or to Britain if he felt that the juries in Massachusetts would be partial. The Act applied largely to Crown officials and troops carrying out their orders. The Americans called this the "Murder Act". There was little chance of offenders being given a fair trial in America but there was little chance of justice being meted out in Britain either. This was regarded as the third of the Coercive Acts.

June 1774

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June 1774

6/1 [Boston]

The Boston Port Act goes into effect: the port of Boston closed to trade.

6/2 [London]

Parliament passed the Quartering Act at the request of Gage. It provided for requiring the colonists to furnish barracks and supplies to British troops when needed. This was regarded in America as the fourth of the Coercive Acts. This act was an amendment to the 1765 Quartering and Mutiny Act which broadened the law. There were four regiments of troops at Castle William with inadequate quarters. The Act allowed for the quartering of these men in empty houses, inns and barns but also in private houses if necessary. Under the 1765 Act, the colonists were required to provide accommodation for British troops. The soldiers were also to be supplied with fire, candles, vinegar, salt, bedding, cooking utensils, up to five pints of small beer or cider or half a pint of rum mixed with two pints of water per man. The colonists were to meet the expense of this for themselves.

6/16 [London]

Parliament passed the Quebec Act. This provided for (1) revocation of the Proclamation against westward expansion in Canada; (2) vesting of legislative power (except in matters of taxation) in a Canadian bi-racial council nominated by the British government. Legislation was subject to royal approval, but there was no mention of a religious test; (3) freedom of worship to Roman Catholics and allowed priests to collect tithes from their parishioners; maintenance of the supremacy of the Crown; (4) retention of French civil and property laws to be retained; (5) enforcement of British criminal law, although there were some significant modifications (for example, Habeas Corpus was omitted); (6) expansion of the boundaries of Quebec. The border now stretched southwards along the Ohio river behind the Allegheny Mountains. Although not directly connected with the other Coercive Acts, this was regarded in America as one of them.

July 1774

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July 1774

7/3 [Boston]

Admiral Graves in HMS Preston arrived in Nantasket Roads about 30 June or 1 July. He took command of the North American Station about 3 July. His mission was to enforce the Boston Port Act by blockading Boston Harbor, support the British Army, and enforce the various trade laws.

7/18 [Fairfax]

A convention in Fairfax County, Virginia, presided over by George Washington, adopts the Fairfax Resolves. The resolves summarize the constitutional history of the colonial/imperial split, call for a non-importation agreement and a general congress of the colonies, and the abolition of the importation of slaves. There is only a slight hint of armed resistance in the resolves.

September 1774

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September 1774

9/1 [Boston]

General Gage seizes Massachusetts owned supply of gunpowder at Charlestown, across the Charles River from Boston.

9/5 [Philadelphia]

First Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia. Georgia does not send delegates to this Congress.The purpose is to respond to the British political moves and recommend colonial responses.

9/9 [Milton]

A meeting of residents of Suffolk County, Massachusetts (Boston) adopts the Suffolk Resolves. These proclaimed the Coercive Acts to be unconstitutional and void; officials charged with the enforcement of these illegal acts were called upon to resign; the convention urged Massachusetts to establish a separate free state until the Coercive Acts were repealed; the delegates suggested that future tax collections be retained by the new Massachusetts government and not passed along to British officials; the convention called for the creation and enforcement of a boycott of British goods and trade with Britain; the convention advised the people of Massachusetts to appoint militia officers and commence arming their local forces; the delegates warned General Thomas Gage that efforts to arrest citizens on political charges would result in the detention of the arresting officers and announced that subjects no longer owe loyalty to a king who violates their rights.

9/14 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Congress approves the Suffolk Resolutions, drafted by a convention in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, which declared the Coercive Acts (or Intolerable Acts) to be unconstitutional, and urged Massachusetts to set up a government independent of the crown until these acts were repealed, recommended economic sanctions against Great Britain, and advised the people to arm.

9/22 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Congress “Resolved unanimously, That the Congress request the Merchants and others in the several colonies, not to send to Great Britain, any orders for goods, and to direct the execution of all orders already sent, to be delayed or suspended, until the sense of the Congress, on the means to be taken for the preservation of the liberties of America, is made public. Ordered, That this resolution be made public by handbills, and by publishing it in the newspapers.” Congress did not pass laws, it passed resolutions. Congress expected the colonies and citizens to follow these resolutions, as is shown by the request to have the resolution printed. The majority of the citizens did obey the resolutions, and Congress became the de facto governing body of the North American colonies. This resolution marked the beginning of the debate over the Continental Association.

October 1774

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October 1774

10/5 [Concord]

The Massachusetts Assembly meets in Concord, Massachusets.

10/8 [Concord]

The Massachusetts Assembly adjourns, and then is re-organized as the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, with John Hancock as President. This was an entirely extra-legal body. It assumed the government of Massachusetts outside Boston, with the willing co-operation of the citizens of Massachusetts. With the formation of the Provincial Congress, Massachusetts had accomplished it's revolution.

10/14 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances summarizing colonial arguments of protest and denying Parliament’s jurisdiction over American colonies except for regulation of colonial commerce and strictly imperial affairs.

10/18 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Congress adopted the Continental Association forbidding importation of British goods after 1 December 1775, and exportation of goods to Britain after 10 September 1775.

10/19 [London]

A British Order in Council prohibits the exportation of gunpowder from Great Britain and the importation of gunpowder into the North American colonies. The ban is periodically renewed, six months at a time, until the end of the war.

10/19 [Annapolis]

At Annapolis, Maryland, the owner of ship Peggy Stewart, arriving with tea aboard on which tax had been paid, was forced to burn his own vessel to avert a mob burning the vessel.

10/20 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Congress published the Continental Association. The association becomes the test of the support of the people, and they widely adopt the measure, treating it as a "law." Local committees are formed to enforce the terms, and become de facto local governments. The economic boycott led to a 90 percent decline in British imports by spring 1775.

10/25 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Congress approves an “Address to the King.”

10/26 [Concord]

The Massachusetts Provincial Congress directed that militia-men of the colony be reorganized so that the most able-bodied third would be in separate companies of minute men.

10/26 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Congress adjourns, to meet again on 10 May 1775.

December 1774

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December 1774

12/1

Non-Importation (under the Continental Association) goes into effect.

12/4 [Boston]

Vice Admiral Graves receives orders to seize gunpowder, arms, or ammunition being imported into the North American colonies, unless the masters of the vessels had special licenses for doing so. Similar orders went to the governors of all the North American colonies, from Lord Dartmouth, dated 19 October 1774, the same day as the order in council prohibiting the exportation of gunpowder from Britain.

12/5 [Boston]

HMS Asia arrives, with a reinforcement of 460 Marines.

12/8 [Providence]

The General Assembly of Rhode Island, having received news of Lord Dartmouth’s orders concerning the importation of munitions, orders that the cannon and powder at Fort George (on Fort Island in Newport Harbor) be removed to Providence, except for three cannon and a small quantity of powder.

12/9 [Boston]

HMS Boyne arrives at Boston.

12/10 [Newport]

On 12/9 and 12/10 all cannon removed from Fort George to Providence, except four.

12/10 [Providence]

Providence, Rhode Island newspaper publishes the Order in Council forbidding exportation of gunpowder and Lord Dartmouth’s orders to the colonial governors to seize powder and arms shipments.

12/13 [London]

Parliament votes 16,000 men (including 4,284 Marines) for the Navy for the year 1775.

12/13 [New London]

Cannon from the fort at New London, Connecticut, are removed into the country.

12/14 [Portsmouth]

Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Several hundred men conduct a raid on William and Mary Castle. Some shots are fired by the garrison. Cannon and powder are removed after the surrender. This action is sometimes claimed to be the first battle of the war.

12/14 [Providence]

The Rhode Island General Assembly orders the purchase of 200 barrels of powder and other materials.

12/14 [New London]

Merchant Nathaniel Shaw of New London suggests that Connecticut import 400-500 barrels of gunpowder. Shaw has a vessel ready to sail and knows where to get the powder.

12/15 [Boston]

Gage reports that he has received many reports of Americans sending to Europe for munitions. He and Admiral Graves have coordinated a plan to prevent smuggling of munitions. These reports were well in advance of the facts: the Americans were just beginning to search for gunpowder.

12/18 [Boston]

HMS Somerset arrives at Boston, She is the third ship-of-the-line to arrive there in December.

January 1775

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January 1775

Winter [Hofgeismar]

British and Hessian representatives conduct negotiations at the Hessian palace of Hofgeismar for the hiring of large numbers of Hessian soldiers. The negotiations fail because the Hessian price was too high. The negotiations indicate that the British ministry was planning to use massive military force to subdue the colonies.

1/1 [Boston]

Admiral Graves has 24 ships and 3,545 men in his squadron, including one fitting out to join him. His area of responsibilty runs from the St. Lawrence River to the Florida Keys and includes the Bahama Islands. To enforce the Boston Port Bill and the general trade laws, this might have been enough vessels; to patrol for smugglers and gunpowder smugglers, it was woefully inadequate. The British authorities plan to send both military and naval reinforcements to America.

1/27 [London]

Gage authorized to use force to maintain royal authority in Massachusetts.

1/27 [London]

British begin warning European powers that they will seize contraband arms shipments to America.

1/30 [London]

Orders to Vice Admiral William Parry, Commander of the Leeward Islands station, to be attentive to illegal trade between St. Eustatia and America, particularly ammunition. Information of these orders sent to Holland, Denmark, and Sweden.

February 1775

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February 1775

2/1 [London]

Parliament rejects a plan of reconciliation introduced by William Pitt.

2/9 [London]

Parliament declares Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion.

2/9 [London]

Anticipating the failure of local contractors, the Admiralty ordered the victuallers to send out four months’ provisions for 4275 men. A transport ordered to take Generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton’s baggage to America. The three generals were part of the reinforcements being sent to support Gage.

2/10 [London]

First Restaining Act introduced in House of Commons.

2/10 [Concord]

At the request of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, lawyer John Brown sets out on a reconaissance into Quebec.

2/14 [London]

Parliament votes 2000 more men (including 490 Marines) for the navy for 1775.

British troops sent by sea land at Marblehead to destroy ordnance collected by the rebels at Salem. The countryside is alarmed and many militia companies turn out. A tense standoff nearly became overt hostilities.

March 1775

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March 1775

3/9 [London]

Second Restraining Act introduced in the House of Commons. The same as the first for New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina. Trade to be restricted to Great Britain, Ireland, or the British West Indies.

3/21 [London]

British Parliament passes the First Restraining Act, prohibiting trade to the four New England colonies. The act is also known as the New England Restraining Act. Only trade with Great Britain, Ireland and the British West Indies is allowed to Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. New England fishing vessels are excluded from the Newfoundland Banks. If these colonies followed the Continental Association, as they were doing, and this law, the effect would be to cease all trade, and throw thousands of sailors and fishermen out of work. All goods in warehouses, and all shipping, was now worthless. The act was to take effect as follows: 7/1/75 no exports except to Britain; 9/1/75 no imports except from Britain (except horses, foodstuffs and Irish linen from Ireland); fishing by New England ships after 20 July forbidden on the banks or any coast of northern America (Nantucket excepted).

3/22 [London]

Edmund Burke's speech to the House of Commons on reconciliation.

3/23 [Williamsburg]

The Virginia Convention resolved that the colony ought to be immediately put in a posture of defense. Patrick Henry’s “liberty or death” speech.

3/29 [Cambridge]

John Brown reports to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress on his reconaissance into Quebec. Brown reports that he has had discussions with Ethan Allen concerning the capture of Fort Ticonderoga if war broke out.

3/30 [London]

The New England Restraining Act signed by King George.

April 1775

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April 1775

4/13 [London]

Second Restraining Act signed into law. The king and ministry, determined to demonstrate his right and that of Parliament to govern the activities of the American Colonies, and in retaliation for the work of the Continental Association previously created by the Continental Congress, extend the New England Restraining Act to the southern and middle colonies of Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

4/18 [Boston]

The British at Boston begin an operation into the countryside, aimed at a magazine of munitions located at Concord, Massachusetts.

4/19 [Lexington]

Battles of Lexington and Concord. The British driven back in retreat from the countryside with many casualties. Hostilities commence in New England.

4/19 [Charleston]

A Secret committee in Charleston, South Carolina, seized mail arriving on British packet ship Swallow, which disclosed the intentions of the British government to coerce the colonies into submission. This action gave advance warning to patriots in the Carolinas and Georgia, and gave the Second Continental Congress the first clear evidence of British intentions.

4/20 [Boston]

Siege of Boston begins. The campaign lasts until 17 March 1776.

4/20 [Boston]

Graves orders HM Schooner Hope to sail to Marshfield immediately with two wood sloops “that I have prest” to evacuate troops and Tories at Marshfield. These were the first British “prizes” of the war, although they were subsequently released.

4/20 [Newport]

Captain James Wallace of HM Frigate Rose threatens to bombard Newport if any assistance is sent to Massachusetts.

4/20 [Williamsburg]

Sailors and Marines from HM Schooner Magdalen remove gunpowder from the Williamsburg powder magazine. The citizens are aroused by this move.

4/21 [Boston Harbor]

Rebels in canoes reconnoitering Castle William. When challenged they fired at the sentinels, escaping in the darkness. The sentinels returned a few shots.

4/21 [Charleston]

Patriots seize all gunpowder from public magazines in Charleston.

4/22 [Watertown]

Massachusetts Provincial Congress appoints a committee to collect depositions and make a full account of the Battles of Lexington and Concord to be sent to England “by the first ship from Salem.”

4/22 [Marblehead]

Selectmen of the town are called aboard HM Frigate Lively by Captain Thomas Bishop. He threatens the town if supplies or men are sent to the rebel army. The selectmen reportedly submitted; to send no men or provisions to Americans.

4/23 [Concord]

Massachusetts Provincial Congress resolves to furnish 13,600 men to a proposed New England Army of 30,000 men.

4/23 [Watertown]

Elbridge Gerry of Marblehead reports that the Lively was laying off the town and that Marblehead had need of assistance in defending itself, and asked directions. The Massachusetts Provincial Congress took no action.

4/24 [Boston]

Graves writes to the governor of Nova Scotia requesting him to permit the passage of vessels with fresh provisions to Boston. These would not be held or harmed, but should have a pass from the governor to prevent their being seized as “New England property.”

The Philadelphia Association formed, a voluntary militia organizations, after news of Lexington and Concord is received.

4/26 [Newport Harbor]

HM Frigate Rose captures two sloops, Abigail and Diana, which are carrying flour for the Rhode Island troops. The owner is John Brown, an important figure in Rhode Island business and politics. Both Diana and Brown are sent to Boston, although Brown was soon released. These are the first true British prizes of the war.

4/27 [Boston]

Admiral Graves requests supplies of fresh provisions be sent from Quebec and Nova Scotia.

4/27 [Cambridge]

The Massachusetts Provincial Congress orders Colonel John Glover at Marblehead to cut off all intelligence being received by the Lively, now laying in Marblehead harbor.

4/28 [Hartford]

A meeting at Hartford by several gentlemen, including the governor of Connecticut, John Hancock and John Adams, approves a scheme to take Fort Ticonderoga with the assistance of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys.

4/30 [Boston Harbor]

HM Sloop Falcon sails to seek provisions and supplies in a sweep to Newport. This was the first British naval offensive operation of the war.

4/30 [Cambridge]

Captain Benedict Arnold of Connecticut meets with the Massachusetts Committee of Safety and proposes an attack on Fort Ticonderoga

May 1775

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May 1775

5/2 [Salem]

Schooner Quero (Richard Derby) sails for England from Salem with American accounts of the opening of the war. The American leaders regard it as critical for their version to be the first to arrive. Derby succeeds in his mission. This might be considered as the first American naval mission of the war.

5/2 [Cambridge]

The Massachusetts Committee of Safety approves Arnold's plan to capture Fort Ticonderoga and appoints him a colonel, with orders to raise a small regiment. Arnold begins recruiting the next day.

5/4 [Boston Harbor]

HM Sloop Otter taken under fire by rebels on Dorchester Point. Commander Matthew Squire got his boats out and sailed them by the rebels. He had the crews fire as they went by, but the rebels held their ground. Finally, he fired off some swivel shot and they dispersed.

5/5 [Boston Harbor]

Otter again comes under fire from Dorchester Point. Otter returns fire from her swivels and silences the sniping.

5/7 [Robinson's Hole]

Falcon impresses a whaling vessel, the first prize of her cruise.

5/9 [Near Fort Ticonderoga]

Learning of the expedition from Connecticut and Allen's participation, Arnold rides ahead. In a tempestuous meeting on 7 May he claims command, but his own men have not arrived. On 9 May, at a meeting to finalize the attack plans, Allen is confirmed as commander, with Arnold allowed to march with him at the head of the column.

5/10 [Fort Ticonderoga]

American troops cross Lake Champlain and capture Fort Ticonderoga with very little or no resistance. Fifty prisoners taken. This marks the beginning of a second front in the rebellion.

Falcon captures the ship Champion with a cargo of wheat, a schooner and two sloops.

5/12 [Martha's Vineyard]

Falcon converts a prize sloop into a tender and sends the tender to capture a West India vessel at Bedford or Fairhaven in Buzzard's Bay.

5/13 [Charlestown]

Between two and three thousand Americans troops march into and around Charlestown, under the guns of HMS Somerset. No shots were fired during the demonstration.

5/13 [Buzzard's Bay]

Falcon's tender captures the West India sloop. The Americans ashore organize an ad hoc rescue attempt with the old sloop Success manned by recruits for the Massachusetts army. Success sails in the evening.

5/14 [Fort Ticonderoga]

Liberty arrives at Fort Ticonderoga. Arnold takes charge of her, appointing a captain and arms the schooner. As the Continental Army Schooner Liberty she is in service until July 1777. However, at this point in time she is simply a stolen vessel armed and manned by rebels. She can not be referred to as a Continental Army vessel until 15 June 1775. Nevertheless Liberty was the first warship of the Revolution.

5/14 [Buzzard's Bay]

The Americans in the Success find and capture both the West India sloop and Falcon's tender. A brief skirmish results in the British losing fourteen prisoners, with three wounded. This fight between these ad hoc vessels on both sides was the first naval fight of the war. Although sometimes dismissed as an affair of smugglers, it was more significant than that: it was the largest British casualty list since the Battle of Concord.

5/15 [Boston Harbor]

An American party attempts to ambush one of Otter's boats. Many shots were exchanged with no results.

5/18 [Fort St. Johns]

First Raid on Fort St. Johns. Americans under Arnold land from boats and capture the settlement, as well as the Quebec Provincial Marine sloop Betsey. About twenty prisoners were captured and several boats destroyed and others removed. The capture of the armed sloop gives the Americans naval superiority on Lake Champlain.

5/18 [Charles River]

Americans fire on a British barge in the Charles River. No casualties inflicted.

5/18 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Congress learns of the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. Congress resolves to remove the captured cannon to the south end of Lake George and inventory them, pending their return to the King after peace had been made. This was an indirect order to abandon Fort Ticonderoga.

5/19 [Fort St. Johns]

Second Raid on Fort St. Johns. Americans under Allen land at Fort St. Johns on the night of the 18th after Arnold's departure. On the 19th they are driven off by arriving British troops, with slight loss.

5/19 [Boston Harbor]

Americans fire shots at HM Frigate Glasgow with no reported damage.

5/21 [Fort Ticonderoga]

The Betsey is re-named and taken into service as the Continental Army Sloop Enterprise. With Liberty the basis of the Lake Champlain Squadron is established. Note again that this terminology is, strictly, incorrect, as the Continental Army did not exist for another four weeks.

5/21 [Grape Island]

Battle of Grape Island [The Grape Island Alarm] A small British expedition to Grape Island to retrieve livestock and hay alarms the Americans at Weymouth. The militia gathers and eventually drives off the Britsh in an extended skirmish. No casualties reported on either side.

5/25 [Boston Harbor]

HM Frigate Cerberus arrives in Boston Harbor with Major Generals William Howe, Henry Clinton, and John Burgoyne as passengers. Also arriving with the Cereberus are copies of the Restraining Act.

5/27-28 [Noddle's Island]

Battle of Hog Island [Battle of Noddle's Island; Battle of Chelsea Creek; Battle of Chelsea Estuary] [First Raid on Noddle's Island]: A substantial American force crosses from Chelsea to Hog Island and thence to Noddle's Island, to remove livestock and destroy hay. Fighting begins with a British Marine force on Noddle's Island and eventually draws in more forces from both sides. HM Schooner Diana is destroyed in the fighting. Diana was the first regular British warship lost in the war. This action marked the beginning of the sporadic American efforts to interdict the islands in Boston Bay, the Harbor Islands Campaign.

5/29 [Philadelphia]

Congress publishes an appeal to the Canadians to join the revolt.

5/30 [Boston Harbor]

Second Raid on Noddle's Island: An American party raids Noddle's Island again, burns houses, removes livestock, and exchanges shots with British boats.

5/30 [Boston Harbor]

Raid on Pettick's Island: An American party raids Pettick's Island and removes the livestock.

5/31 [Boston Harbor]

Third Raid on Noddle's Island: An American party raids Noddle's Island, burning houses, naval supplies, and hay.

5/31 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Congress reverses policy on Fort Ticonderoga and requests reinforcements from Connecticut to hold the fort, retaining such cannon as were necessary for its defense.

June 1775

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June 1775

6/2 [Boston Harbor]

Raid on Deer Island: An American party raids Deer Island, removes livestock, and captures a British barge with four or five prisoners.

6/11 [Machias, Maine]

Skirmishing between American citizens and HM Schooner Tender Margueritta erupts after a failed attempt to capture Midshipman James Moore, commander of the schooner. Two sloops, Unity and Polly, loading lumber for Boston, captured.

6/12 [Machias, Maine]

First Battle of Machias, Battle of the Margaretta, ‘Lexington of the Sea’. Americans at Machias embark on the sloop Unity (Jeremiah O’Brien) and the commandeered schooner Falmouth Packet (Benjamin Foster) and chase down the fleeing Margueritta. After a short bloody fight the British schooner is captured. Moore is mortally wounded. This was the first serious sea fight of the war and the first capture of a British warship, although it was a small one.

6/12 [East Greenwich]

The General Assembly of Rhode Island establishes a Rhode Island Navy of two vessels. Abraham Whipple is appointed as Commander-in-Chief. Sloops Katy and Washington become the first authorized American warships.

6/15 [Conanicut Island]

Action off Conanicut Islands. Rhode Island Navy sloops Katy and Washington attack and cut off the schooner tender Diana of HM Frigate Rose. The crew escapes with casualties, but the Diana is captured.

6/17 [Boston]

Battle of Bunker Hill. American forces entrench on Breed's Hill. British troops assault and capture the hill, supported by naval gunfire, but suffer severe casualties. During the fighting the town of Charlestown, Massachusetts is destroyed by British naval gunfire. This was the first American town to be bombarded by the British.

July 1775

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July 1775

7/3 [Cambridge]

General George Washington assumes command of the Continental Army.

7/18 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Congress defines it's first naval policy by recommending to the several colonies to provide armed vessels to defend their harbors and sea coast.

7/31 [Boston]

An American whaleboat raid destroys Boston Lighthouse.

August 1775

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August 1775

8/2 [London]

Major General Thomas Gage ordered home, to be relieved by Major General William Howe.

Rear Admiral Gayton ordered to station ships in lower
Bahama Islands "to intercept and seize North American Vessels" which have been secretly loading "great Quantities of Arms & Ammunition."

8/22 [London]

Lord North concludes that "if America is ever brought to
own the authority of Great Britain, it must be by the Fleet, but . . . a Large land force is necessary to render our Naval operations effectual."

8/23 [London]

Royal Proclamation for "suppressing Rebellion and Sedition"
published in London.

8/24 [New York]

HMS Asia fires upon New York but fails to prevent seizure of
"King's cannon" by patriots.

8/26 [Providence]

Rhode Island instructs its delegates in Congress to urge
creation of a Continental Navy.

8/29 [London]

British warship ordered to African east coast to seize American
vessels trading in area.

8/30 [London]

HMS Rose exchanges fire with patriots at Stonington,
Connecticut.

September 1775

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September 1775

9/2 [Cambridge]

General Washington directs Colonel John Glover of Marblehead to convert fishing vessels into armed ships to intercept upon British supplies entering Boston harbor.

9/5 [Beverly]

Captain Nicholson Broughton, in the Continental Army Schooner Hannah, sails from Beverly, Massachusetts, on her first patrol.

9/10 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Association non-exportation clause goes in to effect, forbidding exports to Great Britain or the British West Indies after this date.

9/12 [Philadelphia]

The Continental Congress re-convenes at Philadelphia. A delegation from Georgia attends for the first time.

9/14 [Cambridge]

Colonel Benedict Arnold ordered by Washington to command an expedition against Quebec.

9/15 [Charleston]

Lord William Campbell, Governor of South Carolina, flees to HMS Tamar off Charleston.

9/29 [London]

Admiralty orders Vice Admiral Samuel Graves to return to England.

October 1775

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October 1775

10/4 [Copenhagen]

King Christian VII of Denmark forbids Danish ships to carry ammunition or other "warlike armaments" to American colonies.

10/5 [Philadelphia]

Continental Congress appoints committee to prepare plan for intercepting two vessels bound for Canada with munitions.

10/7 [Bristol]

Bristol, Rhode Island, bombarded by British warships for refusal to supply provisions

10/7 [Antigua]

Vice Admiral James Young, commanding Leeward Islands Station, complains that American vessels are oBdaining munitions from Martinique, French West Indies.

10/10 [Cambridge]

Prize Agents appointed by Washington to dispose of prizes taken by armed schooners

10/13 [Philadelphia]

Continental Congress enacts first naval legislation; Naval Committee is appointed to provide two armed vessels.

10/18 [Falmouth]

Falmouth (present-day Portland), Maine, bombarded by British squadron for refusal to give up arms.

10/18 [New York]

Governor William Tryon of New York takes refuge on board ship Halifax, New York harbor.

10/20 [Edenton]

North Carolina resolves to send vessels from Edenton, New Bern and Wjlmington to procure arms and ammunition.

10/30 [Philadelphia]

Continental Congress authorizes four armed vessels "for the protection and defence of the united Colonies." This marked the creation of the Continental Navy.

November 1775

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November 1775

11/1 [Watertown]

Massachusetts authorizes privateer commissions and prize courts.

11/5 [Philadelphia]

Esek Hopkins of Rhode Island appointed by Congress to command the Continental Fleet.

11/6 [Plymouth]

Continental Army Schooner Harrison, Captain William Coit, carries two prizes into Plymouth, Massachusetts.

11/7 [Off Norfolk]

Governor Dunmore proclaims martial law in Virginia; on November 17, he offers freedom to slaves who pledge allegiance to the Crown.

11/10 [Philadelphia]

Congress votes to raise two battalions of Continental Marines, creating the Continental Marines.